Ajmer blast case: Verdict by NIA special court expected tomorrow

Swami Aseemanand, alongwith several others were accused as per the NIA's chargesheet filed in the 2007 Ajmer blast case.

A National Investigation Agency (NIA) Special Court in Jaipur is expected to deliver its verdict in the Ajmer blast case on Wednesday.

Earlier, the court was expected to deliver the verdict in the case on the February 25 but the announcement was deferred till the March 8. The verdict is expected to be delivered by NIA's Special Court Judge Dinesh Gupta.

Swami Aseemanand, alongwith several others were accused as per the NIA's chargesheet filed in the 2007 Ajmer blast case. They were accused of various charges, including hatching a blast conspiracy, planting bombs, murdering and spreading communal hatred.

The accused in the case, apart from Aseemanand, included Chandrashekhar Leve, Mukesh Vasani, Bharat Mohan Rateshwar, Lokesh Sharma, Bhavesh Patel, Mehul Kumar, Harshad Solanki and Devendra. The 8 accused are in judicial custody while one, Chandrashekhar Leve is out on bail. Three other accused are currently absconding. They include Suresh Nair, Sandeep Dange and Ramchandra. One accused, Sunil Joshi, was murdered in 2007.

CHARGESHEET AGAINST ASEEMANAND

Two FIRs were registered in 2007 in Ajmer in this matter. However, investigations in this case were transferred to the NIA only in 2011. The NIA filed the chargesheet in the case in the same year. Subsequently, supplement chargesheets were filed in the case.

The agency accused Aseemanand of masterminding the blast that rocked the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti shrine in the month of Ramzan on October 11, 2007, which left 3 people dead and 17 injured.

The case had witnessed a major twist as Bhavesh Patel had accused several Congress leaders, including former Home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Digvijaya Singh of pressurising him to name senior RSS leaders, including current RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat and senior RSS functionary Indresh Kumar as being complicit in the blast case. He had demanded a judicial enquiry into his accusations and the alleged role of Congress leaders and NIA officers.